Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Trip Report - my first trip to Bali

Just wanted to post a really quick trip report on our first trip to Bali.

As we had never been before we did not know what to expect especially with all the bad publicity Bali seems to always get in the papers.

Well we spent 5 nights in Seminyak at the Ulin Villas. These villas are gorgeous and totally divine. We had a 2 bedroom villa which was more than enough space for the 3 of us. My son loved the fact that he had his own little abode. The villas are in a good location, just down the street next to Ultimo. It was good to be able to go out for dinner and just wander back rather than have to catch a taxi. I also noticed quite a lot of other villas that I was considering for our stay, and I think villa choice in Bali can be really hit and miss in regards to where they are located.

Seminyak was a real surprise as I did not expect the boutique type shops. So the shopping was very good. However, not really any cheaper than in Melbourne. so i did not buy anything.

I did like the Seminyak area. We spent time outside Ku De Ta on the sun lounges watching the world go by. My son loved to go swimming in the surf. I was prepared for the colour of the sand, so it was really no problem for us.

We hired a driver for the day and went to Uluwatu, Padang Padang beach and Nusa Dua. Had a good laugh at the monkeys at Uluwatu, as they took the sunglasses off a lady. We hired a guide to show us the area and to keep the monkeys away. He was very funny and carried a sling shot which the monkeys seemed to respect. Loved Padang Padang beach. Great place to spend the afternoon. The water was so inviting. Nusa Dua was also good to see , and I can understand why people do not consider it the real Bali.

We ate at some really good places in Seminyak, and thanks to Trip Advisor we really did not have a bad meal. We ate at Ulitimo, Nirvana, and I think a new place called Khaima (not sure if this is the right spelling). Although I did find that sometimes my food was a tad over salty.

We ate lunch at Potato Head which we enjoyed. the views are amazing. I think i do prefer Ku De Ta. While Potato Head certainly has the wow factor, for me it tries too hard. And the european men in their speedo's was a bit off putting for lunch.

We went to Kuta and Legian to look around. All crazy, but it was fine.

After our 5 nights in Seminyak, we went to Ubud for 4 nights. We stayed at the Nefatari Villas which was a lovely spot to just chill out. I know that they are out of Ubud, but Ubud is just so busy with day trippers that it did not bother us to get out of the place.

In Ubud we spent time looking around Monkey Forest Road and the Ubud Palace.

We ate at Bridges which was really lovely. Expensive for Bali, but a real treat.

One one of our days we booked Bali Baik which turned out to be a really good day. Loved riding through the Bali villages and saying hello to all the children. There was only a few problems with this day cycling though. The bike ride , although mostly downhill did have a few steep hills that was difficult to ride. No problem though. The roads are really bad, so you had to be very careful. This caused my "behind" to get quite a bruising and I now have bruises in places that I did not think possible. The ride is also about 27kms long , so you need to prepare yourself. At the end of it I felt very pleased with myself even though I was bright red and thought I was having a heart attack.

Final thoughts on Bali - we really enjoyed our holiday. The balinese are lovely people. They are so respectful and we had some lovely conversations.

I took Travelan, insect repellant and lots of anti bacterial wipes. We did not get sick at all. I used the wipes just before eating to clean my hands, but my husband and son thought I was crazy. They did not use anything at all. In the evenings I did put on the insect repellant so even though I did get a few bites , over a 10 day period it really was not that much.

I enjoyed visiting Bali and maybe one day I will return, but there is a big wide world out there, and lots on my bucket list.

So thank you to everyone who posts on this forum as it really helped me in planning my trip.